and snatched out the phone.
Shifters weren’t allowed to have voice mail, so they either answered the phone or
missed the call. But almost all phones had caller ID these days, so she could see
that it was Brody’s number.
“What?” she bellowed into the phone.
“Mom, seriously, I don’t want to bother you, but I think there’s a problem.”
“Problem? What problem?” Shiftertown burning down? Eric dead in a dominance battle?
Rogue Shifters trying to take over?
“I can’t find Shane,” Brody said.
Nell flashed back to when she’d been a scared thirtysomething, barely into adulthood
for a Shifter, with small cubs who kept getting lost.
Mama, I can’t find Shane
had been a common refrain. Those little bears had gotten themselves into so much
trouble.
She let out a long breath, holding on to her patience. “We’re talking about
Shane
. He probably ran off with something female. Where are you?”
“Still at Coolers. He’s not with a woman. I’d know that. I mean, he’s really gone.
You didn’t send him on an assignment, did you?”
“When would I have found time to do that?”
“I don’t know. I’m asking on the off chance. I’m worried.”
He sounded it, and Brody wasn’t often worried. Nell felt Cormac behind her, his body
heat on her back. He’d put on his jeans, but not his shirt.
“When did you last see him?” she asked Brody.
“Sitting at the table we all snagged in the first place. You and Cormac were dancing
by the time Shane and I got back with the drinks. Then you two left, and Jace and
a human girl came to sit with us. The human girl was way more interested in Jace than
us. Shane went off to see if he could find someone for himself, and Jace and the girl
went to dance. I sat there for a long time. Shane never came back, so I started looking
for him. He was just gone.”
“How do you know he didn’t find someone to be with? Or a friend to talk to? Or didn’t
give up and go back home?”
“Because he would have told me. Plus, he would have had to catch a ride, since you
and Cormac took off in the pickup. I never saw him leave with anyone, and neither
did anyone I asked.”
Nell’s concern started to pick up, but she tried to stay calm. “He could have gone
out to find a bus. Or a taxi.”
“I’d have picked up the scent if he’d walked to a bus stop or even got into a taxi
in front. There’s nothing. I can’t find his scent at all, but there’s so many here
it’s confusing. He’s not in any of the back rooms, or in any of the cars in the parking
lot. I looked. He vanished into thin air, and Shane’s pretty big. Hard for him to
do that.”
Nell’s palm sweated where she clutched the phone. She knew Cormac had heard every
word, Shifter hearing being what it was—not that Brody was being quiet.
“Don’t worry yet,” Nell said. “There’s no reason anything should have happened.”
Even as she said it, her heart squeezed with fear. Human hunters were allowed to hunt
and kill un-Collared Shifters for bounty, and sometimes they didn’t bother checking
whether the Shifter they’d caught had a Collar or not.
Then again, most hunters went out to the wild places, where feral Shifters were more
likely to be found eking out an existence. Hunters didn’t hang around parking lots
of dance clubs in the middle of the city.
“Who’s there with you?” Nell asked.
“Jace, for now. Looks like Graham and that girl he likes, plus a couple of his Lupines.
I don’t see anyone ranking except Graham and Jace.”
“Well, don’t raise the alarm for now. We can’t start a major panic and then find out
Shane’s in a broom closet making out with his latest conquest.”
“I know. But I thought I should tell you, even though I know you’re . . . busy.”
“I’m not writhing in a naked sexual frenzy, Brody.”
“Goddess, Mom,
please
don’t talk about naked sexual frenzies. I’m upset enough about Shane
Shifters weren’t allowed to have voice mail, so they either answered the phone or
missed the call. But almost all phones had caller ID these days, so she could see
that it was Brody’s number.
“What?” she bellowed into the phone.
“Mom, seriously, I don’t want to bother you, but I think there’s a problem.”
“Problem? What problem?” Shiftertown burning down? Eric dead in a dominance battle?
Rogue Shifters trying to take over?
“I can’t find Shane,” Brody said.
Nell flashed back to when she’d been a scared thirtysomething, barely into adulthood
for a Shifter, with small cubs who kept getting lost.
Mama, I can’t find Shane
had been a common refrain. Those little bears had gotten themselves into so much
trouble.
She let out a long breath, holding on to her patience. “We’re talking about
Shane
. He probably ran off with something female. Where are you?”
“Still at Coolers. He’s not with a woman. I’d know that. I mean, he’s really gone.
You didn’t send him on an assignment, did you?”
“When would I have found time to do that?”
“I don’t know. I’m asking on the off chance. I’m worried.”
He sounded it, and Brody wasn’t often worried. Nell felt Cormac behind her, his body
heat on her back. He’d put on his jeans, but not his shirt.
“When did you last see him?” she asked Brody.
“Sitting at the table we all snagged in the first place. You and Cormac were dancing
by the time Shane and I got back with the drinks. Then you two left, and Jace and
a human girl came to sit with us. The human girl was way more interested in Jace than
us. Shane went off to see if he could find someone for himself, and Jace and the girl
went to dance. I sat there for a long time. Shane never came back, so I started looking
for him. He was just gone.”
“How do you know he didn’t find someone to be with? Or a friend to talk to? Or didn’t
give up and go back home?”
“Because he would have told me. Plus, he would have had to catch a ride, since you
and Cormac took off in the pickup. I never saw him leave with anyone, and neither
did anyone I asked.”
Nell’s concern started to pick up, but she tried to stay calm. “He could have gone
out to find a bus. Or a taxi.”
“I’d have picked up the scent if he’d walked to a bus stop or even got into a taxi
in front. There’s nothing. I can’t find his scent at all, but there’s so many here
it’s confusing. He’s not in any of the back rooms, or in any of the cars in the parking
lot. I looked. He vanished into thin air, and Shane’s pretty big. Hard for him to
do that.”
Nell’s palm sweated where she clutched the phone. She knew Cormac had heard every
word, Shifter hearing being what it was—not that Brody was being quiet.
“Don’t worry yet,” Nell said. “There’s no reason anything should have happened.”
Even as she said it, her heart squeezed with fear. Human hunters were allowed to hunt
and kill un-Collared Shifters for bounty, and sometimes they didn’t bother checking
whether the Shifter they’d caught had a Collar or not.
Then again, most hunters went out to the wild places, where feral Shifters were more
likely to be found eking out an existence. Hunters didn’t hang around parking lots
of dance clubs in the middle of the city.
“Who’s there with you?” Nell asked.
“Jace, for now. Looks like Graham and that girl he likes, plus a couple of his Lupines.
I don’t see anyone ranking except Graham and Jace.”
“Well, don’t raise the alarm for now. We can’t start a major panic and then find out
Shane’s in a broom closet making out with his latest conquest.”
“I know. But I thought I should tell you, even though I know you’re . . . busy.”
“I’m not writhing in a naked sexual frenzy, Brody.”
“Goddess, Mom,
please
don’t talk about naked sexual frenzies. I’m upset enough about Shane
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